Central Nervous System Involvement in Mantle Cell Lymphoma: Clinical Features, Prognostic Factors and Outcomes from the European Mantle Cell Lymphoma Network

Background: Central nervous system (CNS) involvement in mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is uncommon, and the manifestations and natural history are not well described.

Patients And Methods: We present the data on 57 patients with MCL who developed CNS involvement, from a database of 1396 consecutively treated patients at 14 institutions.

Results: The crude incidence of CNS involvement was 4.1%, with 0.9% having CNS involvement at diagnosis. Blastoid histology, B-symptoms, elevated lactate dehydrogenase, Eastern Cooperative Group performance status ≥2 and a high Mantle Cell Lymphoma International Prognostic Index score were enriched in the cohort with CNS involvement, and the presence of ≥1 of these features defined a high-risk subset (an actuarial risk of CNS involvement 15% at 5 years) in a single-institution subset. The median time to CNS relapse was 15.2 months, and the median survival from time of CNS diagnosis was 3.7 months. The white blood cell count at diagnosis <10.9 × 10⁹/l, treatment of CNS involvement with high-dose anti-metabolites, consolidation with stem cell transplant and achievement of complete response were all associated with improved survival.

Conclusions: In MCL, CNS involvement is uncommon, although some features may predict risk. Once manifest outlook is poor; however, some patients who receive intensive therapy survive longer than 12 months.